Dreaming a new dream

Main menu

Post navigation

I don’t turn 30 until next year but I am so excited for that year. It’s going to be epic! I am so pumped for 30 that I wrote a poem today in eager anticipation ☺️. I think I feel bad for 30. Everyone is afraid of it. So I’ve decided to embrace it, and count down to it. This is me giving 30 some love.

I wish I could recommend this book for CXC Literature students. The poetry, imagery, and character complexity are just yearning to be analyzed. This is an excellent, pseudo-fictitious account of WWII events. The juxtaposition of thoughts and characters is presented beautifully. Simple writing & complex characters. Melancholic & sensual events. Hitler brutality & English kindness. War & Love through the eyes of an 8-year old Brit. Love. All kinds of love. Parental, mentor, marital, love affairs….I am impressed that this is the first novel by Rosie Alison. What a woman! =)

If your love language is Words of Affirmation, you’ll love this book. There are some love letters written here that will make you all-sorts-of-swoon.

For what it’s worth, I wanted to tell you that I love you. Never before has anyone touched me so deeply – you have changed my life and I cherish everything about you….I have never loved a face more than I love yours, and I see it everywhere. Everything that moves reminds me of you.

I give this book a 5/5. I’ll definitely read again one day. Bella’s Bookshelf is happy for this new addition =)

:: I love seeing Caribbean people succeed, and use their education to fuel the development of the islands. I love to see that agricultural education is not forgotten. Too often, I have seen people back home frown upon farms. We must remember, we are what we eat. Yay to Machel for pursuing a higher degree in agriculture! ::

As customary on Tech4agri , we take the time to feature agriyouth like many of us out there striving for success. Understanding success factors certainly helps one along the way but it is not an exact formula. What is clear is that one must have that drive to pursue what he or she is truly after, exhausting every opportunity, to ensure they accomplish their goals.

This week we feature Machel A. Emanuel, a Dominican born, PhD student at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica. Machel’s academic background features a Bsc. Zoology & Botany, following that an Msc. Plant Production and Protection.

Over time Machel opted for an academic career within the university community which led to a specific research area in crop science with a focus on post harvest techniques. Mainly his work is devoted to the physiology and biochemistry of fresh tropical and sub-tropical fruits during the maturation, ripening and…

Spotify’s CEO on Tuesday aired his frustration with Taylor Swift’s critique of the streaming music service, arguing that his company’s revenue sharing agreements ensure that musicians get paid for their work and serve as a bulwark against online piracy.

“We started Spotify because we love music and piracy was killing it,” wrote CEO Daniel Ek in a post on Spotify’s official blog. Ek said that Spotify had paid a total of $2 billion to music labels and their associated artists since Spotify launched in 2008, a sum he argued wouldn’t exist had fans downloaded the music through pirated websites.

Ek’s defense came in the wake of pop artist Taylor Swift’s widely publicized decision to pull all of her music, save one song, from the streaming service last week. Swift has previously criticized Spotify’s payments to musical artists — which average less than a penny per played song — as inadequate…

You seriously need to apply for this. If I was studying computer science, please believe I would be working on this essay right now.

Program: Google’s scholarship recipients from North America will be invited to visit Google headquarters in Mountain View, California for the Google Scholars’ Retreat. The retreat will include workshops, speakers, panelists, breakout sessions and social activities scheduled over a 3-day period. Students will have the opportunity to explore the Googleplex and enjoy the San Francisco Bay Area as they get to know other talented computer science students from across the country.

Due Date: January 15, 2015

Who should apply:

a female student currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at a university for the 2014-2015 academic year

intend to be enrolled in or accepted as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student at a university in the United States for the 2015-2016 academic year

majoring in computer science, computer engineering, or a closely related technical field

maintain a strong academic record

exemplify leadership and demonstrate passion for increasing the involvement of women in computer science

There is a First love, from God, who loved us all before we even started loving each other. Second love is from our parents, friends, siblings and of course that significant other (for those of us that got him/her).

Sometimes, we expect from the second love what we should really be receiving from the first…that unconditional, total, self-giving love… If you are experiencing that from your person, then congratulations and good luck to u ;).

But, we must realize that we are limited in our abilities to be so unconditionally loving. Holding on to that Cinderella dream of finding that one person who is going to love us so completely can be disappointing.

Quite frankly, I never heard of the quarter-life crisis until today. Gee thanks “Dominique” for sharing this insightful article with me today!

After reading this article, I realize that I am on the tail end of my quarter-life crisis. According to the article:

Phase 1 – A feeling of being trapped by your life choices. Feeling as though you are living your life on autopilot.

Ohmigoodness, yes! I admit after grad school I could not figure out what was next for me. In retrospect, I gravitated to my startup because I would essentially be commercializing my thesis project. It was a field that I knew and loved and believed in – proteomics. I knew I was good at it; I had awards to prove it. I loved my team, after all one of them was my PhD advisor. I couldn’t say no to him. He believed in me so much, imparted his knowledge on me, and mentored me for almost 5 years. But, I realized in this phase that being an adult means setting my own goals, pursuing my own dreams – not the dreams of my advisor nor my parents. But, my own. Up until the end of my PhD, I didn’t really have to think about what was next. What was next was always written in a course catalog. Now, with a world of opportunities available to me, I felt trapped in the startup. Long hours doing experiments, writing grants, writing business plans, training technicians, answering phones. My life was on autopilot.

Phase 2 – A rising sense of “I’ve got to get out” and the feeling that you can change your life.

I think the trigger to get out was staring at my dwindling bank account, and realizing that after receiving an advanced degree, I was still not able to help my mother financially. Realizing that I couldn’t afford to travel as much as I wanted to. Realizing that my friends in the industry did not have 12+ hour days.

Phase 3 – Quitting the job or relationship or whatever else is making you feel trapped and embarking on a “time out” period where you try out new experiences to find out who you want to be.

So, I resigned. I don’t like the word “quit”. I most definitely didn’t quit. I resigned amicably. And, those weights lifted off my shoulder.

Phase 4 – Rebuilding your life.

I moved states. I got to use my interior decorating skills to “adultify” (i.e. beautify my place in a non-college student way) my new apartment. I feel free. I have time to explore my other passions now. Mind you, I do miss living in a college town. I miss having intellectual conversations with my peers and my “superstar”. I miss my “superstar”. I miss being at the forefront of new technologies and innovations. But, I finally have the time to take care of me, and I am loving it. I am loving this state and being close to my “Dominique.” I am loving dabbling in the medical device industry.

Phase 5 – Developing new commitments more attuned to your interests and aspirations.

I still don’t think I am where I want to be yet. But it’s a start. I just learned that I can paint :D. I’m serious about staying fit and now I have time to go to the gym. I know that I will start a start-up again one day; working in industry allows me to learn how I can do it right the next time. I’m still going to write that children’s book; I gave myself my own deadline. And, I love that it is a self-imposed deadline, and not a school deadline or work deadline, but my own. That simple deadline makes my heart smile.

So quarter-life crisis, I am proud to survive you!! And, Dr. You, if you are going through this, I wish you the best of luck. There is a light at the end of your tunnel! I see it!!! I do, I do. Do you? Look closely. You are almost there ;). Be blessed!

Ok…so I get on the Tech Trolley this morning at the Midtown Station at 8:34 am to be precise…and just my luck, I get to sit behind this weird a$$ guy on the trolley. As soon as he settles into his seat, he engages into a mechanistic cycle of taking his left pinky finger, places it into his left eardrum, and starts digging for earwax. Once he found is treasure, he watches it for a brief second, flicks it off with is left thumb or places it into his MOUTH! It reminded me of ChBE 2100 when I was learning the mass in = mass out process…oh lawd! And when he got bored with the left ear, he switched over to the right…
The dude proceeded to do this for 11 minutes! Yes I timed him! I was dismayed, disgusted, appalled, unnerved, wanted to barf, tempted to slap him upside the head, and be like, what the hell are u doing…

I tried to look out the window at the beautiful scenery…but I have to admit that I was oddly fascinated by his rather obsessive compulsive disorder…Never have I seen someone do this in PUBLIC before! Of course, I’ve never seen anyone do this in PRIVATE either :D.

I felt sorry for the guy seating right beside him. You should have seen how he jumped out of his seat when he arrived at his stop at the ES&T building, but me I had another two minutes to endure!

And then, the earwax-picking dude had the audacity to hold the handle of the seat when he stood up at the Dorm Stop across the MSE building! Hell NO! and then he holds onto the silver bars on the ceiling of the Tech Trolley, and I was forced to be reminded of all the germs that we pick up everyday, not knowing who touched what after doing what! Shyt! Shyt to the power of infinity!

Lucky for me, I am short! I thank God for the little height he gave me everyday! why? because holding onto those silver bars on the trolley literally dislocates my shoulder! I tried once and had to tippy toe to reach it…lol 😀

– are a female and are a citizen of a developing country or emerging economy. You are not eligible to apply if you hold dual citizenship of which one is citizenship of a developed country.

– are preparing for a PhD degree or post-doctoral research in the physical sciences, engineering, technology and related disciplines. Awards in biological sciences are limited to interdisciplinary research between physical and biological sciences. The Faculty for the Future program does not fund Master level studies;

– are enrolled, admitted or have applied to a host university/research institute abroad (applications are no longer accepted where a candidate has not yet applied to a university).

– hold an excellent academic record

– have a proven track record of teaching experience or can demonstrate commitment to teaching

– can demonstrate active participation in faculty life and outreach programs to encourage young women into the sciences

– are willing to contribute to the socio-economic development of your home country and region by strengthening the faculties in your home university, pursuing relevant research, or using your specific expertise to address public policy matters

Program: The Data Incubator is an intensive six-week fellowship that prepares postdocs and PhDs in STEM + social science fields seeking industry careers as data scientists. The program is free for fellows and supported by sponsorships from dozens of employers across multiple industries. In response to the overwhelming interest in our earlier summer and fall sessions, we will be holding a winter postdoc fellowship.

Locations: There will be both an in-person (in NYC) and online section of the fellowship.

Dates: Both sections will be from 01/05/15 to 02/13/15

Who should apply: Anyone within one year of graduating from a PhD program or who has already obtained a PhD is welcome to apply. Applications from international students welcome. There is a common application for both the online and in-person sections. Everyone else (including non-PhDs) is enouraged to sign-up for a future session.